Kayaking has become an extremely popular recreational activity. In fact, over 1 million kayaks are sold annually and it has been estimated that over ten million people paddle a kayak each year. Although kayaks have traditionally been associated with the adrenaline pumping running of whitewater rivers, the vast majority of today's paddlers do so in the relatively still water of ocean bays, ponds and lakes. In still water, kayaks provide paddlers with the ability to explore areas that may not be otherwise accessible by other craft, to quietly approach birds and other wildlife, and to otherwise enjoy a unique view of their natural surroundings. However, paddlers of traditional kayaks have heretofore been unable to view the diverse and beautiful natural environment that lies underneath them.
The inventor of the present invention is avid paddler who owns a number of conventional kayaks and uses them to explore the waters off of the coast of Maine and the many lakes and ponds in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Because the inventor is also a marine biologist, he recognized that he was missing fully half of what he could be seeing from his kayak. Therefore, he searched for commercially available kits in order to retrofit his existing kayaks, but was dismayed to find that non were available. In response, he undertook development of the present invention, which resulted in installation of his first prototype in one of his kayaks.
This first version of the present invention used a single round pane of one-eighth inch thick LEXAN® plastic that was secured within a hole cut in the bottom of the kayak forward of the kayak's seat through the use of bolts and silicone sealing compound. This version worked reasonably well and proved to the inventor that such a viewing system could open up a whole new world to paddlers if they were able to easily and inexpensively install such a viewing window in their kayak. In addition, those first glimpses downward caused the inventor to see a whole new set of possibilities for the invention than merely sightseeing. For example, he recognized that such an invention would have great applicability to other marine biologists, fishery managers and environmental engineers in their work. However, in order to realize the full potential for these users, he recognized that there must be some way to photograph what was being viewed for later comparison with earlier photographs.
Unfortunately, the inventor's initial attempts at underwater photography resulted in poor quality due to the glare off of the top surface of the viewing Window. In response, he developed the first iteration of the camera mounting system described in detail below in order to block out the glare. This produced excellent photographs, but prevented him from concurrently viewing and photographing the underwater environment at the same time. The need to produce a kit that could be easily and inexpensively installed in existing kayaks, that would produce high quality photographs, and that would allow the paddler to view the underwater environment while taking photographs, led to further development of the viewing system that eventually resulted in the completion of the preferred embodiment described in detail below.
It is recognized that glass bottom boats have been in existence for many years, and the inventor is aware of the fact that “party boat” operators in tropical locations use them extensively. Therefore, it is understood that the concept of viewing the underwater environment through the bottom of a watercraft is not a new one. However, “glass bottoms” have typically only been installed in larger watercraft and their installation has required extensive engineering and reconstruction of the vessel hulls in order to form a watertight seal and maintain the hull's structural integrity. For this reason, underwater viewing systems have only been installed in a relatively small percentage of watercraft.
A number of patents are directed to providing underwater viewing capabilities to smaller craft. However, none are capable of being easily an inexpensively installed in the millions of existing solid bottom kayaks, canoes and other small craft. Further, each has specific drawbacks that make them inappropriate for widespread installation in new watercraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,692, titled “Transparent Bottom Boat” discloses a recreational boat with a viewing plane that is inserted into a preformed portion of the hull and secured thereto. This patent disclosed a boat having a bottom through which underwater environment may be viewed. However, the design requires that the watercraft be specifically manufactured to include this feature, making it unsuitable for retrofitting of existing watercraft. Further, the fact that the entire bottom surface is transparent makes scratching of the viewing area by the user unavoidable and vastly reducing the effectiveness of the viewing area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,020, tilted “Transparent Kayak/Canoe Hull”, describes a combination canoe/kayak hull unitarily formed from seamless thermoplastic and dimensioned for use either as a canoe or kayak depending upon the use of trimming weights. This patent disclosed a kayak having a bottom through which underwater environment may be viewed. However, as was the case with U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,692, this design requires that the vessel be specifically manufactured to include this feature, making it unsuitable for retrofitting of existing kayaks and includes an entire bottom surface that is transparent, making scratching of the viewing area by the user unavoidable and vastly reducing the effectiveness of the viewing area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,716, tilted “Modular Kayak”, discloses a design that combines the features of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,692 and 6,394,020. In this patent, the kayak includes interchangeable central hulls having different configuration. In one embodiment, the removable cockpit is transparent. However, as was the case with the above described configurations, the transparent hull of this patent is not adapted for the retrofitting of existing kayak's and is prone to scratching.
Therefore, there is a need for a watercraft having a viewing system that allows high quality photographs to be taken at the same time as the paddler views the underwater environment and that does not need to be stepped upon by the user and, therefore, is not prone to scratching, and a kit that allows a viewing system to be easily and inexpensively installed in existing kayaks and other watercraft.